


you're my air when i feel i can't breathe

by dutchveertje



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Autistic Keith (Voltron), Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Lance (Voltron) is a Good Boyfriend, M/M, Overstimulation, again the autistic kind not the sexy kind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:02:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29985369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dutchveertje/pseuds/dutchveertje
Summary: Keith is at the funfair, only it isn't fun at all. He lost Lance and is so overstimulated he will punch the first person who looks at him wrong. Luckily, Lance finds him before anything that dramatic happens.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 63





	you're my air when i feel i can't breathe

**Author's Note:**

> A few months ago, I thought a lot about autistic Keith being overstimulated and this is the second one-shot I wrote about it.
> 
> Title from Forever and Ever by He Is We

Too much. Everything was too much. Keith didn’t know where he was. Well, he was at the funfair, but there was nothing fun about it. He didn’t know where Lance and the others were. He felt people brushing against him. He couldn’t stand it. The music was too loud. The light was too bright. Someone was talking loudly right next to him. He needed to find Lance. He smelled cheap beer. And something else. He kept walking. He heard the music from a different attraction. Someone started yelling. He flinched. Where was Lance?

Someone bumped into him. “Hey, watch it,” the guy said.

Keith balled his fists and started raising a hand. Before he could do anything, he was yanked backward by someone else. He whipped around and saw it was Lance. Good, if it had been anyone else, Keith would’ve punched them.

“It’s time for you to destimulate,” Lance said. He started walking, dragging Keith along. He pushed his way through the crowd.

Keith kept his head down and looked at Lance’s hand gripping his wrist. He trusted Lance so he didn’t need to look where he was going. It didn’t stop all the other stimuli, though. More people brushed against him. They passed an attraction where a man was yelling at passerby. They walked through someone’s puff of cigarette smoke. It was awful.

Finally, Lance stopped walking.

Keith looked up and saw that they were standing behind one of the attractions. There were no people here, the sounds were a little quieter, the smells a little less pungent.

Before Keith could do anything, his face was shoved in the crook of Lance’s neck. Suddenly, his senses were flooded with Lance. Lance’s smell, the sight of Lance’s brown skin, Lance’s arms around him and chest against his, the sound of Lance’s voice saying comforting words in his ear. Keith took a deep breath and brought his arms up around Lance’s waist. He clutched at Lance’s back, still trembling from the rage that coursed through him a minute ago.

After some time, Keith felt himself relax. It could’ve been five minutes, could’ve been thirty, he didn’t know. The anger was gone, now he was just exhausted. He noticed he had started leaning on Lance during this time, but Lance didn’t seem to mind. He lifted his head from Lance’s neck.

“Better?” Lance asked.

Keith nodded.

“Come on, babe, let’s get you home,” Lance said.

Keith nodded again.

Lance took off his jacket and handed it to Keith. He knew it would be a source of comfort for him and that he could get cold when tired.

Keith took it and slipped his arms in the sleeves. He zipped it up and put the hood up. He was gonna have to brave that crowd again. The oversized hood would protect him against some of the stimuli if he kept his head down.

Lance grabbed Keith’s hand and they started walking again. Less hurriedly this time, but still at a brisk pace. Keith did his best to make himself as small as possible so fewer people would brush against him. He held the sleeve of his free hand up against his nose against the smell. He couldn’t do anything about the sound, but it’s better than nothing.

When Keith realized they were heading for the exit, he stopped. “What about Pidge and Hunk?” he asked.

“They can stay here a little longer. The most important thing is to get you out of here, and I don’t know where they are at the moment,” Lance said. He tugged at Keith’s hand.

When they reached the exit, the crowd thinned. Keith felt like he could finally breathe again. They soon reached Lance’s car and got in.

Keith tried to get as comfortable as possible. He leaned his head back and to the side, so his nose was pressed against the hood and he could smell Lance. He played with the edges of the too-long sleeves. He closed his eyes.

A few minutes into the drive, Lance spoke up. “On a scale of one to ten, how overstimulated are you?”

“Twelve,” Keith mumbled.

“That bad, huh? Any idea why you got so overstimulated in such a short time?”

Keith shrugged.

“Guess you’re just having a bad day then,” Lance said.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at Keith’s street. Lance parked the car and they got out. Once they were safely standing in the hallway of Keith’s apartment, he could finally fully relax.

“I think you should take a nap, you look dead tired,” Lance said.

Keith didn’t resist as Lance started guiding him toward the bedroom. Lance sat him down on the unmade bed. He started unzipping Lance’s jacket so he could give it back.

Lance took Keith’s hand to stop them. “Keep it for now.”

Keith couldn’t really show it, but he was grateful. Lance’s smell was a powerful distimulation tool for him. He took off his boots and swung his legs up on the bed, pulling the blanket over himself.

“If you need anything, I’ll be in the living room, okay sweetheart?” Lance said.

“You need to pick up the others.” Keith lay down.

Lance was silent for a minute, seemingly contemplating what Keith had said. “Are you sure? ‘Cause I can just tell them to take the bus.”

“I’ll be fine,” Keith grumbled.

“Okay, if you insist. But I’ll still come to check on you later today.”

Keith turned around to lie on his side and closed his eyes. After another minute, he felt Lance’s soft lips on his forehead.

“I love you,” Lance said.

Keith hummed. It was all the response he could manage at the moment, already half asleep. He heard Lance’s footsteps retreating and the sound of the door closing. Tucking his hands under his head, his nose was pressed against the sleeve of Lance’s jacket. Lance’s smell lingered in his nostrils while he fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a headcanon that Lance calls Keith babe in public and sweetheart in private. I blatantly stole that from someone, but I can't remember who.


End file.
